


guilt

by lumiinary



Series: smash bros oneshots [1]
Category: Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound, Mother 3, Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-06-02 08:13:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19437454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumiinary/pseuds/lumiinary
Summary: A small one-shot based on the headcanon that Ness ends up feeling guilty for not looking after Porky, causing him to end up in the Nowhere Islands only for him to wreak havoc there.





	guilt

When he figured out that Lucas was from the future, Ness grilled him with questions, because _of course_ he did. Who wouldn’t do that when they just met someone from the future? 

Lucas, being the honest person that he is, told him everything. Well, not everything, but he told him about Porky’s plan to end the world where it stood, and how he lost everything to save it. He didn’t tell him what exactly he lost, as he assumed he already knew that by now. It was obvious, considering how Lucas constantly wore his emotions on his sleeve. 

Ness wondered how Lucas didn’t tell him this sooner. They’ve been friends since the early days of Smash, and he hasn’t told him a single thing about his life. It was understandable, as Ness wasn’t one to tell him _everything_ either (he really only told him about how he saved the world). 

There was one thing he really wanted to know, though: was the Porky he mentioned the very _same_ Porky he was friends with in the past?

“No, it couldn’t be,” Ness wanted to tell himself, but it continued to bite at him until he had to ask. 

“Why are you asking me this?” Lucas asked in a soft-spoken manner. 

“I dunno,” because to be honest, he _didn’t_ know. Well, he really didn’t have a solid reasoning for asking, “I was just wondering.” 

“Like,” He said, continuing, “What was he like?” 

Lucas looked away. “He was very childish, from what I know. It’s hard to explain, I uhh… I didn’t really know him for very long.”

Ness waited for another response.

“He was… a very power-hungry person…”

“And?” 

“Selfish, too…” Lucas buried his face into his hands. He could feel a headache coming on. All this talk about his past was wearing him out. “I think he said something about how he went forward in time for too long to the point where his body began to wear away, but his mental state was still the same.” 

Lucas could see Ness’s eyes widen as he finished his sentence.

“Oh… oh no…” 

Lucas straightened at the tone of his friend’s voice. 

“It… it couldn’t be,” Ness’s voice shook with astonishment. He didn’t want to believe it. He couldn’t be indirectly responsible for the death of half of Lucas’s family, what caused him to want to save his world. He should have stopped Porky when he had the chance. 

“Ness?” 

“No…” 

Ness’s chorus of ‘no’s’ didn’t answer anything. It was sending him in a frenzy. What was he getting at, anyway? And what did this mean about Lucas’s past? 

“So it is…” Ness continued with his unintelligible blunder, causing Lucas to intervene. 

“Ness,” Lucas said, assertive. “Explain.” 

Ness sighed, trying his best not to continue shaking. He was doing it to the point where it was involuntary. “Porky, no, _Pokey_ …” He continued to breathe erratically. “He was an old friend of mine. I… should’ve acted more like his friend, cause to tell ya the truth, I was. I corrupted him, didn’t I? And that’s why he ended up in your world.” 

Lucas shook his head. He refused to believe Ness had anything to do with what happened to him. “No, that was all Porky’s doing. It had nothing to do with you. And besides, there was nothing you could do to-”  


“I could have done _something_ ,” Ness continued, interrupting Lucas’s sentence. “I could’ve told him we were still friends, and that I cared for him, but nope! Can’t do that now… I really should have been there for him. And then, then…” 

Lucas shook his head. “You did what you could. What Porky did was out of your control. Even if you did convince him, I don’t think you’d be able to do it enough to change his mind about ending the world.” 

“I know, but,” Ness sucked in a lungful of air, “Don’t you wish that things would go your way?” 

Lucas was silent. What Ness said reminded him of what he said to his father when visiting his mother’s grave: _I thought you said anything could come true, as long as we prayed from the bottom of our hearts?! Mom can’t even punish me anymore now… I… I don’t want it like this…_

After that, he was certain not everything would go his way, and that being an optimist is useless. Though maybe, after what’s happened since he saved the world, maybe that wasn’t always the case. 

Ness didn’t feel like saying anything else for a bit. The guilt continued to consume him as the information settled inside his mind. He couldn’t get the facts out of his head, and Lucas’s attempt at a persuasion tactic couldn’t convince him that _he,_ not only Porky, but _Ness himself_ was responsible for the downfall of Lucas’s family, including all the feelings Lucas culminated in three years. 

It made him not want to associate himself with Lucas ever again. How could he, considering what he’s done? He didn’t need to rope Lucas into his problems, especially his future ones. 

Ness felt someone’s arms encompass his body. Is this _seriously_ his way of cheering him up and filtering out his negative feelings?

Lucas felt as if he had to do this. He felt responsible for Ness feeling the way he does, and he had to do _something_ about it, or else _he’d_ feel guilty for tearing their friendship apart. 

“You don’t need to blame yourself,” Lucas muttered into his shoulder. 

Ness turned around, getting himself out of the embrace. “Why shouldn’t I? If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t hafta-” 

“ _Ness_.”

“And then your family wouldn’t be-”

“You’re just repeating yourself, at this point,” Lucas said, breaking him off, “Like I've said before, don’t blame yourself over something that doesn’t involve you. What Porky did was out of his own volition. Besides, I feel it was more my fault that Claus ended up dead. I know I should have went with him,” He felt as if he was about to cry at this point, but shook the upcoming tears away as he didn’t want to break down in front of Ness. “Or maybe I should have gone in his place. Maybe then, dad wouldn’t have to…” He didn’t expect Ness to know who Claus was, but his words ended up spilling out anyway. 

With that, Ness laid a hand on his shoulder. “Lucas, don’t.” 

Lucas snapped out of his reverie. “Uhm, sorry. I’m just making this all about me, aren’t I?” 

_This was about you to begin with._ Ness was about to say, but didn’t in order to avoid souring the conversation even further. 

“Look, I’m sorry for asking,” Ness said, “I really wasn’t trying to pry into your past. I know things like that can get pretty personal.” 

Lucas nodded. “It’s fine, I… didn’t mean for this conversation to drag for too long. And I didn’t mean to ramble on like that either. I uhh, don’t want to drive you away or anything.” 

“Drive me away?” Ness wanted to laugh. “You are my best friend. I don’t think it’s possible for you to drive me away at this point!”

“I hope so.” When he thought about it, Ness was the only person he had ever since he got invited to Smash. Sure, with his help, he ended up making new friends, but he still stuck by Ness’s side whenever he got the chance. Who knows where he’d end up if the opportunity of them drifting apart struck?

“Hey,” Ness said in a more subdued tone, “It’s gonna be okay, I know it is.”

_Says the one who was freaking out earlier about being one of the causes of my trauma._ said a voice inside Lucas’s head. _No_. He didn’t want to think like that. 

Lucas met his eyes. “You’re just being an optimist.” 

Ness smiled at that statement. “Maybe so.” 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> the name of the google doc this time around was "give me angst or give me death." 
> 
> i headcanon post-game lucas as a bit more confident than he was pre-game or mid-game but more melancholic, though working on it so he can be as happy as ness, though still has that timid persona every once in a while.
> 
> also this is gonna be apart of a series of all my smash bros oneshots that i'll post on here, all existing within the same continuity.


End file.
